Woman accused of killing son suffering with depression, says husband

EDMONTON — The husband of an Edmonton woman charged in the death of their seven-year-old son says his wife has been suffering with severe depression for the last two years.

Florentino Jajoy said Thursday in a written statement that his wife, Nerlin Sarmiento, loved their son, Omar, and that she was under treatment and on medication.

Police were called to an apartment on the south side of Edmonton on Tuesday morning.

Results of an autopsy have not been released, although police at one point said the boy appeared to have drowned.

Investigators said in a release that they believe they have enough evidence to show the death was premeditated.

Sarmiento, who is 32, is to appear in court Friday on a charge of first-degree murder.

“As a family, our opinion is that she is innocent because she was not responsible for her actions,” Jajoy said in the statement.

“She is a loving mother, wife and daughter who put her children’s needs before her own.”

The couple also have a 10-year-old daughter.

“The media have made many versions of the story but as a family that has to go through this day to day, we are certain that Nerlin Sarmiento loved her son Omar and that she was not in her right state of mind and lost sight of herself under her prescribed medication.”

He also said she got the wrong treatment “considering her fragile and vulnerable state.

Jajoy said the province and the medical system failed his family and they did not “receive enough professional support from the medical institutions...”

“She is a loving mother, wife and daughter who put her children’s needs before her own.”

He ended his statement with: “Omar Jajoy, we love you and will remember you for the rest of our lives.”

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